Day 58: Free Day

On Body For Life, you are supposed to take one day off as your “free day” each week. I read an excellent article on the Body For Life website today that goes into detail about your free day and has some good pointers. I’ll give a quick summary here, but you should click over and read the entire article – it is a good read. Click here to read the article.

On your free day, you are allowed to indulge in all of the “unauthorized” food of your choice. The BFL website even has a picture of a donut with the article. The idea behind it is that if you have one day off, it is easier to withstand temptation during the week. I’ve definitely found this to be the case. If I am tempted with something, I just think to myself, “well, I can have that on my day off this week”. Another benefit is that after eating healthy all week, that splurge food may not be as good as we remember when we used to eat it all the time. It helps remind us how good we feel when we eat healthy. It’s not meant to be a binge day like a binge drinker, but rather a day to reward and treat ourselves. One thing that the BFL website mentioned is that if we’re going to treat ourselves, treat ourselves right. If you’re going to get a burger and fries, enjoy a high quality one, not a quick drive through. Here in Austin, TX, we have Mighty Fine Burgers, which grinds their own beef onsite and hand forms their patties right there in front of you.

If you’re ever in Austin, you have to check them out. For me, having the day off really helps make it easier to stay committed to healthy eating during the week. It has been a couple of years since I did Body For Life the first time. When I finished it last time, I tried to keep up the same habits, but gradually over time it became more difficult to say “no” to a cookie at the office, or a cupcake. Another reason why I did Body For Life this time around was to get myself back in the habit of eating healthy regularly. It definitely has helped me so far, and I’m seeing the rewards from it already.